A Tale of Two Heros
by Mephisto Budoki
Summary: My Final Story. Its about Shining Force One and the events after Dark Dragon. Read if you Wish


Shining Force does not in any way shape or form belong to me. It belongs to SEGA, Climax, and all those other wonderful people responsible for bringing us the greatest game ever.   
This Fan Fic contains mature themes, (no lemon, just suggestive material) and most likely descriptive violence (nothing truly nasty) so please read responsibly.   
This is also my last Fanfic, writing just cant factor into my life anymore. However... This fanfic shall turn out to be my greatest work, yet I believe it may be the least read one of all... We shall see.   
This Fanfiction basically takes all the storyline after SF1 (Word: SFCD and SF Gaiden (Final Conflict) and throws it out the window. The story takes place after Dark Dragons Defeat, but has many many many many many flashbacks to randoms parts that should be considered "in game", or events that took place sometime during the game (I'll toss in battle and town references to give you a heads up as to WHERE in the game that may be). 

Well... That about sums it up. Here it is.   
The Final Fanfiction of Meph Budoki... Ill send out an email to everyone who has me on their fav author list to let them know about this fic, Ill let you said readers decide if you want to tell anyone else about it. Its up to you...   
  
  
  


And all returns to white...   
  


A Tale of Two Heros:   
Redemption, Rebirth and what happened after... 

By: "The Crystal" Mephisto Budoki   
Dedicated to the one who has the power. Ph33r.   


Chapter One: Earnest   
Hatred. 

Rain. Earnest looked out the window of one of the many "Headquarter Stations" that had been erected around the land of Rune. Rain. Not many were left now, of the Shining Force that is. Rain. Amon and Balbory had taken wing back to Shade Abbey. Kokichi, Vankar, and Diane left for Pao and Bustoke. Alef and Torusau had left as well, to where they did not say. Lyle went back towards Prompt, "Seeking my fortune," according to him. Rain. The "Original Groupies"; Hans, Luke, Ken, Lowe, Anri, Mae, Gong, Tao, and that dog thing Yogurt, had all departed towards Gaurdiana. Zylo left into the woods, never saying goodbye. Bleu went to Dragonia, but left in the care of Mae a small statue of a dragon, saying to break it if they ever needed his help. Gort had left for the sea, traveling calling the hardened warrior back to the world abroad. Arthur returned to Mariana along with Domingo, both to look into Magic studies. Khris departed for her home of Alterone. The other members, more mysterious ones that Earnest never really got to know well also left to wherever they might be needed. He was the last member to be in Runefaust. He had nowhere to go. Rain.   
Earnest scowled. Rain pissed him off.   


* * *

Long ashen hair fell over the shoulder of a proud Centaur. He slowly paced himself, head held high as he moved, the mighty spear "Valkerie" slung over his back, a Halberd held in his left hand, at an angle that gave him the look of a knight from old, backlit rays of the setting sun shadowing him from the view of people along the way. Earnest had no home. Pao was nowhere to go back to. Bad memories. No use for someone who had known nothing but fighting. No use at all. He could have become like Pelle and gone into the Mercenary trade... but he did not wish to give up his code of honor.   
Earnest glanced up at the sky, a few errant lockes of hair falling to cover the ragged scar that kissed his eye. He felt it. A few light carresses, soft as a feather. Then a thousand blows, large like small pebbles, falling all around him. God damned rain...   


* * *

He didn't really know how long he had been traveling. He had learned to be quite the hunter. His looks had paid for it. His body was caked in dirt and old wounds, infections were starting to come up as well. His weapons, once shined to a perfect finish, were dull and used. His hair was tangled and ratted, mud speckled once fine looks. He squinted his eyes as he emerged from the forest, seeing a tall castle spiral towards the sky, and a smaller looking town out in front of it. He coughed raggedly, his health not as good as it once was. He slowly made his way towards the town, only to see knights training out in front of it. Centaur Knights. Many of them. One or more must have spotted the dirtied blacked halfed centaur, with his back length hair and odd colored body. And his tan.   
The youthful knight ran off, white trimmed fur gleaming as he sprinted towards yet another white, clean looking centaur. A woman with the finest blonde hair. Earnest didn't care... he just wanted to sleep. As he shivered slightly from sickness, he managed to look up and see many of the knights, including blondie, coming towards him. He then realized where he must be. And who he was looking at as he slowly tipped over, almost comically. Gaurdiana.   
Mae...   
...   


* * *

Soft...   
Warm...   
Safe.......... 

....Wont ever be safe...   


* * *

Earnest awoke slowly, head throbbing. He quickly noticed the soft gray shirt that covered his chest, the trimmed fur, cleaned and brushed hair, yet still it brushed against his back. He noticed the lack of armor, yet it was beside his bed, cleaned and tended to. As well as his weapons, once again shining and perfect, like the Force he once served. He slowly rose to his feet, testing his hooves on the soft floor. He was a bit shaky, but would manage.   
He ran through an easy routine, worked into his body like breathing. Armor on, straps tight, weapons ready. He slowly moved out of the tent he must have been placed in, shielding his eyes from the sun.   
Noon. Had to be.   
Earnest wasn't so fond of the sun either.   
He slowly flexed his powerful legs, shaking his head quickly and moving away from tent. He saw a few children, half hidden behind trees and the like watching him. Mae must have told everyone who he was. 

....Mae.   
How long had it been... since he had seen her? She had saved him from his bloodlust. When he had joined he was cold, a killer. She had taken it upon herself to make sure he learned there was more to life than revenge. He had learned....   
Ken...   
He was a fool to even think that way. Earnest scowled slightly and moved towards where it was obvious Mae and her knights were training; just follow the sounds of people groaning.   
It took him a while; once being forced to use his Halberd as a support to get to the training grounds. No one stopped him, but they did greet him kindly as he passed. He merely grunted. Socializing was not his strong point.   
He stopped near the edge of the grounds, watching young knights sparring. They were fairly good, not as good as him of course, but they had a good tutor. Speaking of which...   
There. Right there. His hard eyes softened slightly as she came into view, trotting around the corner, an exotic looking Chrome lance in her hand. Earnest noticed the lack of the Devil Lance she used to carry. He slowly moved out onto the ground, still a bit shaky, causing him to wonder how long he had been out. He made his way towards her, unnoticed as she was talking to a pupil. Her other students slowly stopped sparring as he approched, armor gleaming, black shield hung off the side of his left arm. She shook her head, hair flailing out from her lovely face, almost in slow motion as she laughed. Then she saw him, her expression becoming brighter. Her lips moved, perfect in shape, but voice angry in tone. "EARNEST! WHAT ARE YOU DOING OUT OF BED!"   
He cringed slightly. Same old Mae. He straightened up, taller than her as she angerily stormed towards him, tail swishing out behind her. He looked down at her, matching her stern gaze with an emotionless one.   
Mae growled. "You are SUPPOSED to be RECOVERING! What do you think you are DOING, moving around freely!"   
Earnest snorted, stamping at the dirt with one foot. "Since when are you my mother?" Mae moved back slightly. Earnest didn't blame her. His voice had become rough since he started travelling. He continued. "I don't need your help... I just wanted to make sure the lot of you weren't screwing things up too badly."   
Before Mae could think of replying, a jovial voice was heard from a little bit down the road.   
"Earnest! Mae! Why didn't you tell us he was awake?!" Earnest turned, mentally wincing.   
"Oh bloody hell," he whispered softly as the whole lot came charging up. Ken and Luke running up and stopping, big grins on their always happy faces. Hans and Tao slowly following, arm in arm, bringing a quirk to Earnests eyebrow. Lowe was slow to moving, weighed down by heavy robes and a much too big staff. And then there was Anri. QUEEN Anri to be more precise. Earnest bowed his head sardonically to the elegant yet practically dressed Anri. She chuckled lightly and stopped next to Lowe, who had obviously become her royal advisor.   
"Hello there Earnest... I am grateful you turned out to be ok."   
Earnest shuffled his hooves slightly, uncomfortable trying to talk to someone in such graceful terms. For once, Ken actually did something useful by blurting out.   
"Heya buddy! How ya been doin!" Slap.   
That would sting right about now. Earnest bit back a harsh remark and rubbed his sore torso. Ken winced and then grinned. "Sorry buddy. Kinda forgot about that!"   
Luckily, Mae came to his rescue, shooing away the people, insisting he rest and that he would join them for a dinner amongst friends that evening, then escourted him back to his room. She also insisted on taking off his breastplate and inspecting the increasingly sore "friendly smack."   
She then kicked him not so gently and yelled at him to sleep. It would be a long day.   


* * *

"Long day."   
... "Yes Sir... It was."   
The Farmer folded his arms over the hoe he stuck in the ground, looking at the young man who had joined his farm just a little while back. "I'm heading back to the house, why don't you stop early today?"   
The young man simply smiled. "I'll be along in a while Sir."   
The Farmer shook his head and grinned. "Allright then. I'll see you in a bit."   


* * *

Cold...   
Dark...   
......Alone.... 

............"Get up." 

Who is that? Don't they know Im a killer? 

..."Get up."   


Why don't they hide? 

"Get up."   
... I know that voice...   
"EARNEST! GET UP!!!"   
Kick!   
....Mae....   


* * *

Earnest grunted slightly and opened one eye, greeted by the sight of a slightly peturbed Mae.   
'Heh... More like pissed off,' he though silently as he slowly unfolded his legs from underneath him and stood up, looking down at her. He noticed the slight tone of pink on her cheeks as his nude body rose up.   
"What do you want?"   
Dammit. That was a mistake. He hadn't meant to sound so cold.   
Mae backed up slightly, then straightened up herself, causing Earnest to finally notice that she was in her Dress Armor, medals and such decorating her breastplate. He slowly pulled on the gray undershirt as she explained that he had to go to the Castle with her to a dinner amongst the Shining Force members of Gaurdiana. He had stopped listening, watching her gesture with her hands as she explained something or other. He was rudely awakened from his observations by a swat to the head.   
"Dammit! What was that for?"   
"You weren't listening to me!"   
"Of course I was! You were talking about... a dinner thing."   
Mae sighed exhasporatedly, her tail swishing annoyedly as she tapped one hoof. "Get your armor on, we have to hurry."   
Earnest watched her leave. 

...Mae........ 

He pulled on his armor, not nearly as dressy as Mae's was. His was practical armor, many dents and such, yet it had been polished to a shine. He hooked on his shield, slung his spear, and picked up his halbard. He was ready.   
Slowly, he made his way outside, where Mae was waiting for him. He looked up, sniffing the air. "Dammit."   
"What?" Mae shuffled slightly, a sign of her uneasiness at the pure hatred in Earnest's voice.   
Earnest looked at her, his face dark and solemn. His voice was low and cold, sending a shiver up Mae's back, through her spine.   
"It's going to Rain."   
... 

"WHAT?!?!"   
"I said It's going to..."   
"I HEARD WHAT YOU SAID!"   
Earnest was confused slightly. He then remembered she probably didn't hate the rain like he did. Fine with him. He moved around behind her, causing her to shuffle nervously, then came up beside her right side, lifting up his shield over her head as the rain started to fall. Mae was about to break into a full gallop when he laid a hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him. "What?!"   
"Do not run... Walk slowly and it will not touch you. My shield will protect you from it."   
Mae was a bit dubious, but walked at the pace Earnest set, noticing that he was getting drenched while she stayed dry. When they reached the castle, two Paiges ran up, and one began to dry off Earnest while the other just stared at Mae's perfectly dry hair. Earnest tossed a gold coin to the Paige who dried him and tapped a hoof, looking at the slightly dumbfounded Mae. "What are you waiting for? We need to hrury right?"   
Mae shook off her slight numbness and nodded, trotting in front of Earnest, causing him to finally notice the Devil Lance strapped to her back. And the rest of her back as well...   
...Perhaps he should ask her if...   
"HEYA!!"   
...   
Damn him... always ruining things.   
Just like the one time...............   
...   


* * *

FlashBack generator Enabled... Scene: Chapter 5. Right After the First Sea Battle. 

Earnest shuffled his feet. Battle always made him feel more alive... more whole. He was a killer, even though Mae tried to show him otherwise.   
...Mae...   
He looked over at her, her usually perfect pale face looking slightly green, groomed hair slightly tangled. He set his Power Spear aside, slowly moving across the polished wooden deck towards her. She was lying down, well... kneeling would be more correct. Her legs folded underneath her body, the usual position in which a Centaur would sleep, however, she looked far from blissful rest. Earnest stopped beside her, causing her to look up at him with black rimmed eyes. "You must find this terribly amusing... 'The Proud Mae, daughter of the Great Varios' reduced to a snivelling weakling because of Sea Sickness."   
Earnest bit back a retort, instead kneeling down next to her, carefully lowering himself to the deck. "Not really... I came to see if you would be alright."  
Mae scoffed and turned away, her normal politeness had distengrated because of the uneasiness from Sea travel. "I will be fine once we reach land..."  
Earnest sighed inwardly. She was proud til the end, if nothing else. "That's not what I meant...."  
The boat rocked violently, causing many Force members to find themselves on their backsides. Earnest slowly opened his eyes to find himself smashed against a ship wall, Mae's muscular torso pressed up against his own. He wrapped his arms around her, steadying her while she regained her nerves. He took a slight risk, running a hand through her lovely mane of golden hair, gently pulling the tangles free. It seemed to have the affect he had desired, causing her tense body to slump slightly against his for the moment.   
"Don't worry so much... the boat will not sink."  
Mae looked up at him, eyes red from lack of sleep, and most likely tears. "How do you know?!"  
"Because Max would not have let us board an unstable vessel. He cares far too much for you and the rest of the Force."  
"You don't think he cares about you as well?"  
Earnest looked away slightly, ashen lockes falling to cover his eyes. "I have never asked for anyone to care about me. Nor shall I. I don't need anyone's help."   
Mae's reply was cut short by another violent jerk of the sea. She let out a high pitched whinny, arms wrapping tightly around the nearest thing, which happened to be Earnest's torso. He fought back a slight amount of embarassment, instead wrapping his arms around her as well, pulling her tight to him. They had stayed like that, in eachother's arms, all the way to Waral port, until that bastard Ken had arrived.   
"EARNEST! MAAAAAAAE! We gotta get offa the boat noooow!"   


* * *

  
...  
If he hadn't had shown up, Mae wouldn't have jerked away like she had, running off to get from the ship, her pride had to remain intact. Earnest would have been found kneeling on the ground, alone, by Ken, causing him to be questioned extensively by the more curious, and annoying, members of the Force. It was all his fault.... It always would be. 

Earnest scowled as Ken and Mae exchanged greetings, his face falling neutral when Ken greeted him as well. "Heya buddy! How ya feelin? Ya were out most of 2 weeks after all... had a few of us worried!"   
Earnest grunted angerily. "Fine..."   
Ken nodded and grinned again. "you should be feelin pretty good! Mae looked after ya fer the whole time!" At Earnest's look of dumbfounded shock, Ken elaborated. "Yeah... She stayed in your tent every night, and made sure that the healers tended to ya every day! Didn't she tell ya?"   
Earnest slowly shook his head, long hair swaying slightly as he looked towards Mae, who stamped her foot a few times and looked towards the floor. "You did that... for me?"  
Mae snorted and looked up, pride once again taking hold. "It was nothing special... I would have done it for any member had they been in your horrid condition. You were lucky to have survived. Come on now... we must not keep Her Majesty waiting!" With that she turned away and trotted down the hallway, tail swishing annoyedly. Ken laughed slightly, turning around and clomping along after her, yelling for her to wait up.   
  
Earnest watched them both disapear around a corner before he slowly started to move after them, each foot making a resounding echo throughout the empty corridor as he numbly made his way towards the dining hall they had disapeared into.   
Mae had.... taken care of him...   
......why?   
Earnest shook off the stupor as he entered the hall. He would just have to ask her.   


* * *

Dinner had been hard to handle. Many questions where thrown his way, the curiousity was hard to keep up with. His story had been generally the truth. Yes he had been travelling alone, no he had not been battling. He had been wandering and found himself near Guardiana so he decided to drop by. No he was not going back to Pao.   
Many questions had been answered, but some he could not. Why did he have such long hair, why had he not been taking care of himself. For those he had only one answer, but he would never give it. He had not wanted to live anymore. He would never tell them that. He had managed to escape the dinner when Mae excused herself to get some air. He used some random reason to be able to follow her... he had to know.   
Had to know why she had cared....... about him.   


* * *

He was weary. He wore armor, yet he did not remember putting it on. He carried a sword, yet did not remember buying it. He had a cape, yet it did not flutter. He had scars, but could not place the battles in which he had gained them. Most of all, he carried with him a strange blade, eminating evil, yet he was not afraid of it. He also carried a blade that glowed with light, but he did not know why he doused it in it's sheath. He did not know why he searched, day and night, for a third sword, one created from both. He did not know why he was alive. 

Most of all, he did not know why the name Max was so very important to him. 

* * *

As you can see, this chapter focused on Earnest, the awesome "Tough Guy" Centaur. Each Chapter shall focus on yet another person. The Next chapters person must be obvious now... It shall focus on the Daughter of a Legend. The Leader of Gaurdiana's knights. The Beautiful and Proud. The Angry yet Gentle. The next chapter is all about Mae. 

Hope to see you there in   
Chapter 2: Mae   
Pride 

MB   
2.02.00+11.25.2001 


End file.
